1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safely devices and more particularly to safety devices for electrical wall outlets.
2. Prior Art and Objects
There has been a longstanding need to cover electrical outlets both when in use and when not in use. The placement of improper articles into an electrical receptacle is a major hazard for children. Plugs exist that can be inserted into an unused outlet to prevent a child from inserting an object into the receptacle. There have been numerous patents issued over the years to provide a solution to this problem. The inventions pertaining to this problem for which patents have been granted, generally sought to provide a device which could not be opened by a child but could be opened by an adult. It is critical for safety cover to be readily opened by an adult while not being capable of being opened by a child. If the safely cover is sufficiently complex to frustrate an adult who desires to open the safety cover, the device will not be used and have no benefit. Making a device which is attractive is important and of even greater importance is making a device which has sufficient simplicity so as to be economically produced. It is also important to limit the space needed by the device, particularly when it is opened. It is also important that the device be capable of being assembled into one unit, to prevent parts becoming separated from one another thereby rendering the device unusable.
The safety covers patented to date have provided covers for an electrical outlet but the complexity of certain of the safety covers and the difficulty of use as well as the space required, particularly when opened, has limited the practicality of safety covers.
The Marbais Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,987,690, teaches an electrical outlet cover using three pieces fit together. All three pieces are held by a pre-existing outlet plate by flanges that are held behind the plate. Obviously, the plate screw holding the plate in place must be turned down to a point were the three pieces can slide but still be retained in place. The three pieces include a center piece which must be slid into place after the tension in the plate screw is set as the center piece covers the plate screw and would thus prevent turning of the plate screw when in place. The end pieces include flanges that engage indentations in the center piece. The end pieces can be depressed to release the flanges from the indentations and the end pieces slid away from the center piece to reach the outlets. The center piece, however, would also need to be moved. The resulting operation is sufficiently complex as to cause the device not to be used. Should the retention of the plate screw be sufficiently loose, the entire cover could be slid off the cover plate even by a child. The separate pieces invite loss of a part rendering the device unusable.
The Drapkin Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,639,886 was not intended as a safety device but rather as an electrical receptacle cover for outdoor use to prevent water from interfering with an electrical receptacle. Drapkin, uses a split design having a longitudinal slot aligned with the major axis of the electrical receptacle. When pressure is applied to the end panels, the opening is enlarged sufficiently to provide access to the outlet. No hinges or pivoting covers is provided for by Drapkin and accessibility to the electrical receptacle appears to be restricted.
The McDonald Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,616, provides a single piece cover with various post designs to hold the cover against the wall plate. The tension of the post would have to be the controlling factor in determining whether or not a child could remove the cover. Therefore, it would not be certain that the device would be left with sufficient tension on the post to prevent turning by the child.
The Calderon Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,999, uses a variety of parts that are most apt to be lost and which require an inordinate amount of time to install. A box is held over the outlet cover in a manner similar to that used by McDonald but with openings in the face of the cover that have solid plates over the openings. Each plate has four fasteners holding it in place. When an electrical plug is installed, the solid plate is replaced by two half plates, each with semicircular openings, that mate with one another to form one circular opening. Again, the same four fasteners are needed. The mechanical work required to utilize the electrical receptacle is unduly burdensome and the loss of parts is an ultimate certainty.
Riceman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,019, teaches a cover with three pieces, one of which is a special wall plate to retain the other two pieces. A second piece is secured to the wall plate by flanges. The second piece includes three buttons, one on the top, one on the bottom and one on the side. A third piece mounted on hinges rotates over the second piece and has openings in it into which the three buttons fit. For the third piece to be swung open, all three buttons must be depressed together. The electrical cord passes through an opening in the second piece, which opening is sufficiently large for the cord and the plug to fit. The resulting device is complex and expensive to construct.
The Domian Patent, U.S. Pat. 4,915,638, uses a single box with a special outlet plate. The box is secured at the top to an outlet plate of special design by a lip on the box which engages a slot in the outlet plate. A cantilevered locking tab at the bottom of the box engages another slot in the locking plate. By pressing the cantilevered locking tab upwardly, the box is released. In this design only one pressure point permits the box to be removed. The box can be misplaced when removed from the locking plate can be separated.
The Pedigo Patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,963, teaches a simple box hinged at one side to an outlet plate which is produced to operate with the box. Tubular fasteners on the plate match with tubular fasteners on the box so that a pin can be inserted through the tubular fasteners to retain the box in a closed position. The pin, if readily usable by an adult, would be removable by many children. Thus the protection desired would not be achieved.
Riceman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,169, provides a cover of a general box design which is hinged at one side edge to an outlet plate specially designed to be used in conjunction with the cover. On the opposite side from the hinge and on the top and bottom of the cover, projections are located which engage slots in the outlet plate. To open the cover, pressure must be applied in three places at one time. The use of three points of pressure might well pose some difficulty for many adults and the single cover requires room to swing open.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a safety cover for an electrical outlet which cannot easily be operated by a child but can be operated by an adult and which is attractive and requires minimal space to open.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a safety cover with all parts interconnected to avoid loss of parts.
It is still another object to provide a safety cover that can be economically produced and which is durable.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art as the description thereof proceeds.